Art by Kirsten ZirngiblSince the release of Commander Legends, this cube has became my greatest MtG project. This cube is designed to replicate a fun and engaging EDH experience that is new every time you sit down to play.
WHAT TO EXPECT-
Games feel like EDH: I've curated this list to include the staples that are synonymous with Commander. Cards are powerful, fun, and splashy and decks should feel as though they were genuine-made Commander decks. This means that many cards are very strong. To me, it isn't really Commander if everyone doesn't have a Sol Ring, someone isn't overloading a Cyclonic Rift, asking me to pay the
for Smothering Tithe, or crashing in with a Craterhoof Behemoth for the win. -
Combos that reward creative deck building and player knowledge: combos exist but should be easy to interact with and require many pieces to achieve.
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Combat focused gameplay: the cube rewards combat to prevent boring board stalls and keep games shorter with effects like ninjutsu, goad, monarch, initiative, and more.
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Archetypes that are well-supported and overlap together: many of the 3-color generals exemplify this. Each of the archetypes should have interesting synergies with each other to keep drafting and gameplay fresh every time.
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Streamlined drafting and deck building rules: I tried to keep from deviating from the standard rules of Magic. The draft rules from Commander Legends are used here with little innovation to make the process as simple and intuitive as possible.
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A handful of illegal cards in EDH: Mystery Booster playtest cards, Conspiracy cards, un-cards, and cards that are banned in EDH give a unique experience you can only get with cube. View the cards not legal in EDH by filtering with "legality!=Commander"
ARCHETYPES
Azorius Blink
Cast creatures through the Blind Eternities as a powerful aethermage.
The classic blink deck. Abuse Derevi, Empyrial Tactician or maybe even Tivit, Seller of Secrets to generate insane value. This deck has some sweet tools to utilize creatures and other permanents with amazing "enters the battlefield" effects.
Dimir TheftSend in operatives to turn your opponents' strongest spells against them.
The somewhat control-centered colors are focused on taking things that don't belong to them. Use generals like Sen Triplets and Tasha, the Witch Queen to steal and copy other peoples' spells. A ninjas package can be found for this archetype to really drive the theme home.
Rakdos SacrificeHarness pain magic that cause as much suffering to your opponents as possible.
No pain, no gain. Use Korvold, Fae-Cursed King and Mogis, God of Slaughter to punish the table (and even your self, you little masochist) for incremental advantages. The major theme is sacrificing creatures and treasures for value. Minor themes are group slug effects that cause the whole table to take damage, discard cards, and/or sacrifice permanents.
Gruul StompyCall upon the world to your aid. Crush your foes with the very land beneath your feet!
Obvious generals are Mina and Denn, Wildborn and Lord Windgrace. This deck wants to ramp into large threats and overrun your opponents with beefy beasts. The major theme is combat-matters stompy with a minor Landfall theme to support.
Selesnya TokensUnite the many and overrun your enemies with the power of the largest army.
Go wide with commanders Ghave, Guru of Spores and Phabine, Boss's Confidant to create a board state that is impossible to contest. Populate and Convoke cards really reward this game plan.
Orzhov AristocratsSacrifice the unworthy and beckon their spirits to do your bidding.
This aristocrats style of play wants you to generate tokens or play creatures with sweet death triggers and play around with sacrifice shenanigans. Use Extus, Oriq Overlord or Ghave, Guru of Spores to helm this deck. The major theme is aristocrats and this color pair also has a minor theme of "dark deals", where you play political cards that grant opponents small bonuses.
Izzet MagecraftAssemble unorthodox combos that shock your way to victory!
Whether you are wielding a Zevlor, Elturel Exile or a Kalamax, the Stormsire, there are tons of combos to be found in this archetype. This deck wants to cast and copy instant and sorcery spells. If you like playing solitaire while your opponents stare in impending doom, this is the deck for you.
Golgari ReanimatorControl the very circles of life. All things must die and new creatures will consume the remains.
This is the reanimator/morbid strategy. Discard cards and pull them back with commanders like Muldrotha, the Gravetide or Myrkul, Lord of Bones. This archetype wants to generate value from the graveyard.
Boros AggroMaster the art of combat by wielding powerful weapons and controlling your opponents' every move.
This archetype is centered around aggression and controlling combat. With generals like Pramikon, Sky Rampart and Marisi, Breaker of the Coil, you are able to control the flow of combat. The major theme is goading effects and the minor theme is equipment.
Simic +1/+1 CountersWield evolutionary magic to grow your creations into true apex predators.
Use Pir, Imaginative Rascal alongside Toothy, Imaginary Friend or Falco Spara, Pactweaver to reap the benefits of building powerful threats with +1/+1 counters. Tons of creatures will reward you for counter manipulation.
5-Color TokensA theme to bring the entire cube together is tokens. Various cards will care about tokens in one way or another.
This strategy has some very deep veins you can explore and there is so much more you can do even outside of the main archetypes. Maybe you want to build a group hug deck with either Kwain, Itinerant Meddler or Selvala, Explorer Returned. Maybe you want to recur artifacts with Osgir, the Reconstructor or cast wheels with Nekusar, the Mindrazer. This cube has a near endless number of possibilities!
DRAFT/COMMANDER RULES
Players draft from 3 packs of 20 from the cube and build a deck of 60 (59/58 + general(s)). Players draft two cards at a time. Each pack is seeded with two legendary creatures from the Commander section of the cube. "Partners with" cards are automatically drafted together and are treated as a single card for draft purposes (draft a Haldan, Avid Arcanist and get a Pako, Arcane Retriever for free). Any card with "Choose a Background" also has "Partner" and vise versa. Any legendary creature or planeswalker drafted may be used as a general. Additionally, players' starting life totals are 40.
In order to replicate the feel of commander (and for the sake of balance and drafting freedom), it is vital that some staples be made available to all players. Players each start the draft with the following cards in their draft pool:
DRAFT PRIMER
I've found that this cube does a really good job of appealing to different types of drafters. Newer players should have an easy time grabbing the first legendary creature they like and forcing a deck that should work fairly well, however, the draft environment doesn't have to be all "on-rails" as you might expect. I've developed a guide to the value drafter that should help players build nuanced, effective, and fun decks.
During the draft you should prioritize your picks effectively. The following guide is to help beginners with the cube accomplish this:
There are 4 major card types to look out for in packs 1 and 2.
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Game Enders -- the highest priority are the game winning cards. This includes cards like Approach of the Second Sun, Expropriate, Rise of the Dark Realms, Insurrection, and Craterhoof Behemoth. These cards are first pick-able, as resolving one will usually result in a game win.
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Fixing/Ramp -- Second is mana fixing. Both lands and rocks fit nicely here. It is often correct to pick these up before you are even locked into any colors, as the ability to cast your spells more consistently greatly increases your deck viability.
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Commanders -- Third is your general. Many players will snap up legendary creatures immediately, passing up on cards that would otherwise greatly improve their deck. I find it is often best to make sure you aren't passing either of the first two categories of cards first before making a move into locking your deck's colors and strategy down. This does still need to be a high priority as your deck legality hinges on it.
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Haymakers -- Finally are cards that, no matter what, will always make the cut and are strong signals that a color is open when passed. Notable cards in this category are Luminarch Ascension, Teferi's Protection, Smothering Tithe, Cyclonic Rift, Rhystic Study, Deadeye Navigator, Reanimate, Summon the Pack, Massacre Wurm, Dockside Extortionist, Etali, Primal Storm, Blasphemous Act, Avenger of Zendikar, Triumph of the Hordes, and Oracle of Mul Daya.
After these conditions are met, you should begin looking for cards that fit your deck appropriately and help along your game-plan.
RULES QUICK GUIDE
- Start with Command Tower, Commander's Sphere, Sol Ring, and The Prismatic Piper
- Draft 3 packs of 20
- Draft 2 cards at a time
- Standard commander color identity rules
- Any legendary creatures or planeswalkers drafted at anytime may be used as a general
- Cards with "Partner" have "Choose a Background" and vise versa
- Commander damage is 21
- Minimum deck size is 60
- Starting life totals are 40
- Friendly mulligan rules (first mulligan is free)
OTHER
For any rule not specifically covered, feel free to house rule it. Do what works best for your play group. For example: for cards that refer to a "sealed Magic: the Gathering booster pack", we use 10 cards at random from the undrafted portion of the cube.